Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Original MBP or RMBP? More for your money?

bushido said:
i wouldnt go for the mbp especially when the "new" one comes out around june and the "old" thicker design is completely obsolete. id be so pissed walking around with a dated design but thats just my shallow me :D

the limit on the 13inch is 8GB anyway so theres no point in upgrading and u can upgrade the SSD if u want to. who seriously replaces a battery? by the time it turns to crap u most likely buy a new machine anyway
Click to expand...

I agree, if you got a regular mbp right now then in june it is most likely going to be out dated design as well as internals, if you get a rmpb now, your most likely looking at missing out on the new haswell cpus and maybe a better gpu, but I really don't see them upgrading the design in June on the rmpb but thats just me.
 
makaveli559m said:
Who ever thinks that price and over all everything on the rMBP is better value is totally wrong. You can do a lot more to a classic MBP isnt lke you could upgrade that machine to 1TB or 2TB right? Please external devices dont count. You dont even have a dvd burner or Kinsington lock either or battery meter. Who ever thought less options and a better screen was better than more options and a decent screen has a totally warped view.
Click to expand...

External don't count - wait WHAT? We're talking about a laptop.

2xTB ports + discrete video out counts A LOT.

You can't compare DVD burner that no sane person still uses (if it was BluRay I'd say"okay") to dual 10gbit external interface...

If you think dying standards (FW800) and Ethernet (which is mostly irrelevant for a LAPTOP) has to be embedded why don't you bitch about cMBP not having a VGA and S-Video out...
 
Ploki said:
External don't count - wait WHAT? We're talking about a laptop.

2xTB ports + discrete video out counts A LOT.

You can't compare DVD burner that no sane person still uses (if it was BluRay I'd say"okay") to dual 10gbit external interface...

If you think dying standards (FW800) and Ethernet (which is mostly irrelevant for a LAPTOP) has to be embedded why don't you bitch about cMBP not having a VGA and S-Video out...
Click to expand...

well said! Out with the old and in with the new! If I wanted to be tied down with an ethernet cord and a case of dvds i would of picked up a desktop!
 
bushido said:
i wouldnt go for the mbp especially when the "new" one comes out around june and the "old" thicker design is completely obsolete. id be so pissed walking around with a dated design but thats just my shallow me :D

the limit on the 13inch is 8GB anyway so theres no point in upgrading and u can upgrade the SSD if u want to. who seriously replaces a battery? by the time it turns to crap u most likely buy a new machine anyway
Click to expand...

That's not true. The limit on the 13 inch MBP is infact 16GB RAM.

And again, not true with the battery. Anything could happen (battery damage, "swolen" battery, defective battery), or the OP might excessively use his battery, needing a new one sooner than most people.
 
nickftw8686 said:
well said! Out with the old and in with the new! If I wanted to be tied down with an ethernet cord and a case of dvds i would of picked up a desktop!
Click to expand...

FWIW, PXE booting 28 blades off a Linux VM on my MBP to update firmware simultaneously on them really likes a 1Gb wired connection, over a wireless one.
 
If I was in the market to buy a new MBP, I would buy the 15" retina.

More specifically, I would probably custom order the base model with the 2.6GHz processor upgrade, and 16GB RAM. I would then buy a faster 480GB SSD from OWC, and put the original SSD in their external blade SSD housing. Basically ends up being the same as the top 15" rMBP with RAM upgrade, but with a slightly faster SSD, and an external USB3 256GB SSD for around 150 bucks.

EDIT: Make that 30 bucks.
 
Last edited:
Erasmus said:
... I would then buy a faster 480GB SSD from OWC, and put the original SSD in their external blade SSD housing. Basically ends up being the same as the top 15" rMBP with RAM upgrade, but with a slightly faster SSD, and an external USB3 256GB SSD for around 150 bucks.

EDIT: Make that 30 bucks.
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea either.
 
duervo said:
FWIW, PXE booting 28 blades off a Linux VM on my MBP to update firmware simultaneously on them really likes a 1Gb wired connection, over a wireless one.
Click to expand...

Sure but I don't think that was a requirement for him, or probably 95 percent of people using apple products lol
 
duervo said:
That doesn't make the requirement any less valid.
Click to expand...

well I can spend my time designing a system for 5 percent of users or 95 percent, you have to use the requirements that are going to meet the needs of the greatest amount of users. If apple or any company tried to please everyones needs they would have a product that tried to do 1000 things but only 100 of them right.

And yes if i have 10 people and 9 of them say yes and 1 says no then I would pick the requirement for the 9 not for the 1.
 
nickftw8686 said:
well I can spend my time designing a system for 5 percent of users or 95 percent, you have to use the requirements that are going to meet the needs of the greatest amount of users. If apple or any company tried to please everyones needs they would have a product that tried to do 1000 things but only 100 of them right.

And yes if i have 10 people and 9 of them say yes and 1 says no then I would pick the requirement for the 9 not for the 1.
Click to expand...

You're straying from the point that I was making, or completely missed it entirely (in which case, that's my fault.)

I'll put it another way:

TB-to-Ethernet dongle. There's the wired connection.

You were suggesting that wired network is obsolete. I'm saying it isn't. The existence of the TB-to-Ethernet dongle suggests that Apple agrees with me.
 
duervo said:
You're straying from the point that I was making, or completely missed it entirely (in which case, that's my fault.)

I'll put it another way:

TB-to-Ethernet dongle. There's the wired connection.

You were suggesting that wired network is obsolete. I'm saying it isn't. The existence of the TB-to-Ethernet dongle suggests that Apple agrees with me.
Click to expand...


No i was suggesting that the ethernet port is not needed since there are newer and better technologies for laptops. What sucks is that apple charges for a dongle to give some users their ability to have the wired connection back.

I wasn't trying to argue lol. I am glad we cleared things up :)
 
jav6454 said:
The only question you should be answering when decodig between classic or retina is, how much do you use the DVD/CD drive?
Click to expand...

Correction:

Not many people use physical media/DVD/CD's anymore. It's more the point of longevity. Do you want a really nice laptop right now, but will become outdated quickly? Or do you want a laptop that isn't as nice, but is user upgradeable and will still be somewhat current 1-3 years down the road?

If it was my money, I wouldn't buy a disposable laptop (Retina). I'd get the classic (Non-retina). :)
 
FWIW.....
I just installed a Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 kit in my 13" 2012 Macbook Pro and it works great.

bushido said:
i wouldnt go for the mbp especially when the "new" one comes out around june and the "old" thicker design is completely obsolete. id be so pissed walking around with a dated design but thats just my shallow me :D

the limit on the 13inch is 8GB anyway so theres no point in upgrading and u can upgrade the SSD if u want to. who seriously replaces a battery? by the time it turns to crap u most likely buy a new machine anyway
Click to expand...
 
duervo said:
FWIW, PXE booting 28 blades off a Linux VM on my MBP to update firmware simultaneously on them really likes a 1Gb wired connection, over a wireless one.
Click to expand...
As I said more people use VGA on MacBooks than Ethernet, and it got dropped a decade ago... Rightfully so. What's wrong with using an adapter?

VGA isn't obsolete either, nor FW800.

The fact is you will be able to get 10Gbit ethernet adapter as soon as it becomes standard, with built-in you're stuck.
 
Only one of these computers lets you put two hard drives in. It's double the space capacity potential.
 
Bobby Corwen said:
Only one of these computers lets you put two hard drives in. It's double the space capacity potential.
Click to expand...

This. 256GB Samsung 840 Pro symlinked to 750GB HDD in DVD tray. "Fusion" corestorage if you want or not. Apples Fusion equipped are only 128GB SSD.
My 840 Pro is actually the 4th HD I have swapped out so far. I test these types of things so a Retina was of no use and the 830 was previous gen controller. Good but not cutting edge anymore. My 16GB of memory cost me under 80.00. Plus I have the 8GB to sell or hold onto in case something ever goes bad.

----------
Ploki said:
The fact is you will be able to get 10Gbit ethernet adapter as soon as it becomes standard, with built-in you're stuck.
Click to expand...

You most likely will be buying a new computer before this happens though. Adoption is super slow. How many years before gigE was prevalent? Still not everywhere. Except maybe a short run from your laptop to your desktop in your house.
 
makaveli559m said:
Who ever thinks that price and over all everything on the rMBP is better value is totally wrong. You can do a lot more to a classic MBP isnt lke you could upgrade that machine to 1TB or 2TB right? Please external devices dont count. You dont even have a dvd burner or Kinsington lock either or battery meter. Who ever thought less options and a better screen was better than more options and a decent screen has a totally warped view.
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
I don't really care about what's being argued here, but to me, it all comes down to this:

What is more important to me? The screen/weight, or the ports/optical drive?

I'm currently on a '12 13" cMBP, I'm pretty happy with the machine, but in retrospect...I want the better screen (or more desktop space) since I'm staring at this thing all day long, and it strains my eyes reading text after awhile. My next laptop will definitely be a rMBP 13", or an Air with an IPS display if they ever decide to put that in.

I personally think that "future-proofing" computers is a losing battle, especially portable ones, and I would rather just upgrade the entire system in 3 years time than try to stretch it (perhaps uncomfortably) to 4-5. I personally feel that the only thing that matters is what you actually use your computer for and not what others perceive as "better value" or "superior" as long as you can comfortably afford it. These are just my opinions though.
 
derbothaus said:
The lock removal is indeed strange as Apple were huge on standardizing this. It doesn't take up any room either.
Click to expand...

You mean the Kensington lock? The operation of the hinge gets in the way. Plus, anyone with a decent set of pliers or wire cutters can steal a notebook tethered down with a cable that hooks up to a Kensington lock.
 
Windows&Apple said:
Correction:

Not many people use physical media/DVD/CD's anymore. It's more the point of longevity. Do you want a really nice laptop right now, but will become outdated quickly? Or do you want a laptop that isn't as nice, but is user upgradeable and will still be somewhat current 1-3 years down the road?

If it was my money, I wouldn't buy a disposable laptop (Retina). I'd get the classic (Non-retina). :)
Click to expand...

How will it become outdated faster?
You can upgrade three things on the cMBP:
1. RAM
2. Storage
3. Optional Secondary Internal Storage

1. The limit on the current cMBP is 16GB, correct? Solution: Get 16GB on the rMBP.

2. You can upgrade storage on the retina so that's not an issue.

3. (IMO the only real benefit of a non-retina model) You have an option between an internal disc-drive or installing a secondary internal storage. With the key word being INTERNAL, the rMBP can't really do this. Either way, the Retina will in no way become outdated faster. Unless, of course, I'm missing something?


Edit: Another benefit of the cMBP is that its base model is cheaper. If you don't have enough money right now to get the high-end options, you can still get a decent machine and upgrade in the future. However, if you do, indeed, have enough money to upgrade (either through third-party vendors or even Apple) to 16GB of ram and an SSD, then rMBP is a obvious choice.
 
Last edited:
Ploki said:
External don't count - wait WHAT? We're talking about a laptop.

2xTB ports + discrete video out counts A LOT.

You can't compare DVD burner that no sane person still uses (if it was BluRay I'd say"okay") to dual 10gbit external interface...

If you think dying standards (FW800) and Ethernet (which is mostly irrelevant for a LAPTOP) has to be embedded why don't you bitch about cMBP not having a VGA and S-Video out...
Click to expand...

I do use a dvd burner Im a computer tech. External stuff doesnt count, you cant always take that stuff with you. Irrelevant Ethernet? Businesses still relie on Ethernet because its more stable than wireless. Seriously you talking about bitching about S-Video and VGA while comparing the rMBP and cMBP? It isnt like the rMBP has VGA or S-Video.
 
What I don't like about the rMBP is the ram and storage isn't user upgradable.

For instance, as soon as they're updated I'm going to buy 16GB of ram and a Samsung 840 Pro SSD to drop in.....can't do that in the rMBP, unfortunately.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back